Trip: In the early morning rain ...

In the early morning rain from Topanga Point, Malibu to The Hollywood Sign! Overcast sky with red and gold streaks to the East and dark clouds to the West. Light offshore breeze flowing down through the canyons and bringing a definite chill to the air.

Malibu looked crowded but had noticed Topanga looked just as good ... but only a couple of guys out. (Had come up from Long Beach just after sunrise nose to tail on PCH with a Bentley and MBZ SLK's dodging in and out of traffic like fish in a school.)

Back to Topanga, suited up and climbed down the enbankment with the Super Fish skirting the "green" lagoon of Topanga creek to a narrow strip of sand between the rock fields .

Dead low tide, so a 30 yard slippery rock dance to the surf line. Intermittent light rain 58 F air 54 F water. Wait for a lull and do the shallow "crab" paddle to deeper water then sprint to the line up. Only two guys out!

Two to three foot fast little peelers lining up off the point, breaking in waist deep water all the way inside to knee deep or less, with occasional boils of exposed rocks sticking out!

More of a 3rd Point Malibu fast short board wave. Guy on a 5'6" Quad Fish just ripping all the way down the line. Take off sideways, clear the first section and start pumping. Nothing radical or you will lose too much speed, plus stay high as you might find a dry rock sticking through the wave face! Kind of a following curl, snapping at your hells and the shallower it got the faster it broke, until it gobbled you up ... fall flat!

Bloody cold, longboader in a spring suit only lasted half an hour, the guy on the Quad wearing a 3/2 lasted an hour. I had it to myself, except for a cheeky brown Seal in the kelp bed giving me the evil eye, a couple of black diving ducks and (BUF's) brown pelicans bombing from altitude.

Caught three or four fast walls before the crowd finally showed up! Got caught inside as a chest to shoulder high set came through, started to paddle outside hard but bang a really bad cramp in my left calf, forced me off off the board in agony to massage it.

That was it packed it in, changed shivering and took off to see my daughter in the Hollywood Hills. Up Topanga Canyon all the way to the 101 South. Driving up the canyon shimmering in the rain saw a green Pagoda with a sign that said:

Say hi to Ka Ka the Himalayan cat who just came from the cat beauty parlor in West Hollywood (ran by two black Drag Queens.) Go out to breakfast with Royale to Cafe 101 where they serve egg white and tofu Omelette's or Huevos Rancheros for $10 with no eggs.

Then up the street to the Hollywood Sign. Road dead ends into a unpaved parking lot by a Horse Stables. Since my daughter screwed up her ankle I start to jog up the path alone ... that lasted about 10 seconds ... its really steep and I am panting. Run into a group of Swedes "Ya, luke at tha vilderness Ya" taking a picture with their hands in the air (holding up the Hollywood Sign) and two older lesbians who take my picture ... don't know why?)

Rain starting to get heavy ... run down the hill say goodbye and home.